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172 Cards in this Set
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A 1995 Supreme Court decision holding that federal programs that classify people by race, even for an ostensibly benign purpose such as expanding opportunities for minorities, should be presumed to be unconstitutional. Such programs must be subject to the most searching judicial inquiry and can survive only if they are “narrowly tailored” to accomplish a “compelling governmental interest.” p.165
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Adarand Constructors v. Pena
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A policy designed to give special attention to or compensatory treatment of members of some previously disadvantaged group. p.163
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Affirmative Action
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A law passed in 1990 that requires employers and public facilities to make “reasonable accommodations” for people with disabilities and prohibits discrimination against these individuals in employment. p.161
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Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
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Legal briefs submitted by a “friend of the court” for the purpose of raising additional points of view and presenting information not contained in the briefs of the formal parties. These briefs attempt to influence a court’s decision. p.506
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Amicus curiae briefs
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The jurisdiction of courts that hear cases brought to them on appeal from lower courts. These courts do not review the factual record, only the legal issues involved. Compare original jurisdiction. p.508
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Appellate Jurisdiction
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The 1833 Supreme Court decision holding that the Bill of Rights restrained only the national government, not the states and cities. Almost a century later, the Court first ruled in Gitlow v. New York that state governments must respect some First Amendment rights. p.97
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Barron v. Baltimore
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Specific locations from which news frequently emanates, such as Congress or the White House. Most top reporters work a particular beat, thereby becoming specialists in what goes on at that location. p.217
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Beats
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Elections to select party nominees in which voters are presented with a list of candidates from all the parties. Voters can then select some Democrats and some Republicans if they like. See also primaries. p.244
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Blanket Primaries
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Television and radio, as compared with print media. p.213
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Broadcast Media
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The 1954 Supreme Court decision holding that school segregation in Topeka, Kansas, was inherently unconstitutional because it violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection. This case marked the end of legal segregation in the United States. See also Plessy v. Ferguson. p.143
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Brown v. Board of Education
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The master game plan candidates lay out to guide their electoral campaign. p.266
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Campaign Strategy
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A meeting of all state party leaders for selecting delegates to the national party convention. Caucuses are usually organized as a pyramid. p.267
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Caucus (State Party)
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A valuable tool for understanding demographic changes. The Constitution requires that the government conduct an “actual enumeration” of the population every 10 years. See also demography. p.174
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Census
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The belief that in order to support democratic government, a citizen should always vote. p.304
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Civic Duty
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A form of political participation that reflects a conscious decision to break a law believed to be immoral and to suffer the consequences. See also protest. p.198
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Civil Disobedience
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The legal constitutional protections against government. Although our civil liberties are formally set down in the Bill of Rights, the courts, police, and legislatures define their meaning. p.96
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Civil Liberties
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Policies designed to protect people against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by government officials or individuals. p.138
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Civil Rights
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The law that made racial discrimination against any group in hotels, motels, and restaurants illegal and forbade many forms of job discrimination. See also civil rights movement and civil rights policies. p.146
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Civil Rights Act of 1964
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Lawsuits permitting a small number of people to sue on behalf of all other people similarly situated. p.505
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Class Action Suits
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Elections to select party nominees in which only people who have registered in advance with the party can vote for that party’s candidates, thus encouraging greater party loyalty. See also primaries. p.244
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Closed Primaries
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A group of individuals with a common interest upon which every political party depends. See also New Deal Coalition. p.245
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Coalition
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When two or more parties join together to form a majority in a national legislature. This form of government is quite common in the multiparty systems of Europe. p.256
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Coalition Government
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Communication in the form of advertising. It can be restricted more than many other types of speech but has been receiving increased protection from the Supreme Court. p.114
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Commercial Speech
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The issue raised when women who hold traditionally female jobs are paid less than men for working at jobs requiring comparable skill. p.156
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Comparable Worth
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A political ideology whose advocates fear the growth of government, deplore government’s drag on private-sector initiatives, dislike permissiveness in society, and place a priority on military needs over social needs. Compare liberalism.
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Conservatism
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Appellate courts empowered to review all final decisions of district courts, except in rare cases. In addition, they also hear appeals to orders of many federal regulatory agencies. Compare district courts. p.509
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Courts of Appeal
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In this 1976 Supreme Court decision, the Court determined that gender classification cases would have a “heightened” or “middle level” of scrutiny. In other words, the courts were to show less deference to gender classifications than to more routine classifications, but more deference than to racial classifications. p.154
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Craig v. Boren
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An electoral “earthquake” whereby new issues emerge, new coalitions replace old ones, and the majority party is often displaced by the minority party. Critical election periods are sometimes marked by a national crisis and may require more than one election to bring about a new party era. See also party realignment. p.247
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Critical Election
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Court sentences prohibited by the Eighth Amendment. Although the Supreme Court has ruled that mandatory death sentences for certain offenses are unconstitutional, it has not held that the death penalty itself constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. See also Furman v. Georgia, Gregg v. Georgia, and McClesky v. Kemp. p.124
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Cruel and Unusual Punishment
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The science of population changes. See also census. p.174
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Demography
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A high-tech method of raising money for a political cause or candidate. It involves sending information and requests for money to people whose names appear on lists of those who have supported similar views or candidates in the past. p.278
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Direct Mail
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The 91 federal courts of original jurisdiction. They are the only federal courts in which no trials are held and in which juries may be empanelled. Compare courts of appeal. p.508
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District Courts
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The 1857 Supreme Court decision ruling that a slave who had escaped to a free state enjoyed no rights as a citizen and that Congress had no authority to ban slavery in the territories. p.141
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Dred Scott v. Sandford
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The constitutional amendment that forbids cruel and unusual punishment, although it does not define this phrase. Through the Fourteenth Amendment, this Bill of Rights provision applies to the states. p.124
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Eighth Amendment
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A unique American institution, created by the Constitution, providing for the selection of the president by electors chosen by the state parties. Although the electoral college vote usually reflects a popular majority, the winner-take-all rule gives clout to big states. p.314
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Electoral College
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The 1962 Supreme Court decision holding that state officials violated the First Amendment when they wrote a prayer to be recited by New York’s schoolchildren. Compare School District of Abington Township, Pennsylvania v. Schempp. p.100
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Engel v. Vitale
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Part of the Fourteenth Amendment emphasizing that the laws must provide equivalent “protection” to all people. As one member of Congress said during debate on the amendment, it should provide “equal protection of life, liberty, and property” to all a state’s citizens. p.139
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Equal Protection of the Laws
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Part of the First Amendment stating “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” p.98
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Establishment Clause
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The rule that evidence, no matter how incriminating, cannot be introduced into a trial if it was not constitutionally obtained. The rule prohibits use of evidence obtained through unreasonable search and seizure. p.119
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Exclusionary Rule
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Public opinion surveys used by major media pollsters to predict electoral winners with speed and precision. p.188
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Exit Poll
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A law passed in 1974 for reforming campaign finances. The act created the Federal Election Commission (FEC), provided public financing for presidential primaries and general elections, limited presidential campaign spending, required disclosure, and attempted to limit contributions. p.282
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Federal Election Campaign Act
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A six-member bipartisan agency created by the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974. The FEC administers the campaign finance laws and enforces compliance with their requirements. p.282
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Federal Election Commission (FEC)
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The constitutional amendment that establishes the four great liberties: freedom of the press, of speech, of religion, and of assembly. p.97
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First Amendment
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The constitutional amendment adopted in 1870 to extend suffrage to African Americans. p.147
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Fifteenth Amendment
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The constitutional amendment designed to protect the rights of persons accused of crimes, including protection against double jeopardy, self-incrimination, and punishment without due process of law. p.120
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Fifth Amendment
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The constitutional amendment adopted after the Civil War that states, “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” See also due process clause. p.98
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Fourteenth Amendment
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A First Amendment provision that prohibits government from interfering with the practice of religion. p.98
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Free Exercise Clause
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The recent tendency of states to hold primaries early in the calendar in order to capitalize on media attention. At one time, it was considered advantageous for a state to choose its delegates late in the primary season so that it could play a decisive role. However, in recent years, votes cast in states that have held late primaries have been irrelevant given that one candidate had already sewn up the nomination early on. p.270
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Frontloading
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A term that refers to the regular pattern by which women are more likely to support Democratic candidates. Women tend to be significantly less conservative than men and are more likely to support spending on social services and to oppose the higher levels of military spending. p.194
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Gender Gap
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The 1963 Supreme Court decision holding that anyone accused of a felony where imprisonment may be imposed, however poor he or she might be, has a right to a lawyer. See also Sixth Amendment. p.122
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Gideon v. Wainwright
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The 1925 Supreme Court decision holding that freedoms of press and speech are “fundamental personal rights and liberties protected by the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment from impairment by the states” as well as the federal government. Compare Barron v. Baltimore. p.98
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Gitlow v. New York
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The 1976 Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of the death penalty, stating that “It is an extreme sanction, suitable to the most extreme of crimes.” The court did not, therefore, believe that the death sentence constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. p.125
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Gregg v. Georgia
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A politics in which the behavior of citizens and policymakers and the political agenda itself are increasingly shaped by technology. p.208
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High-tech Politics
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The legal concept under which the Supreme Court has nationalized the Bill of Rights by making most of its provisions applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. p.98
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Incorporation Doctrine
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A process permitted in some states whereby voters may place proposed changes in the state constitution on a state referendum if sufficient signatures are obtained on petitions calling for such a referendum. See also legislative proposal and constitutional convention. p.296
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Initiative Petition
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The use of detective-like reporting to unearth scandals, scams, and schemes, putting reporters in adversarial relationships with political leaders. p.212
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Investigative Journalism
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A judicial philosophy in which judges make bold policy decisions, even charting new constitutional ground. Advocates of this approach emphasize that the courts can correct pressing needs, especially those unmet by the majoritarian political process. p.533
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Judicial Activism
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How and whether court decisions are translated into actual policy, affecting the behavior of others. The courts rely on other units of government to enforce their decisions. p.525
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Judicial Implementation
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A judicial philosophy in which judges play minimal policymaking roles, leaving that strictly to the legislatures. Compare judicial activism. p.533
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Judicial Restraint
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A constraint on the courts, requiring that a case must be capable of being settled by legal methods. P.506
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Justiciable Disputes
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A 1944 Supreme Court decision that upheld as constitutional the internment of more than 100,000 Americans of Japanese descent in encampments during World War II. p.151
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Korematsu v. United States
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A characterization of elections by political scientists meaning that they are almost universally accepted as a fair and free method of selecting political leaders. When legitimacy is high, as in the United States, even the losers accept the results peacefully. p.296
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Legitimacy
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The 1971 Supreme Court decision that established that aid to church-related schools must (1) have a secular legislative purpose; (2) have a primary effect that neither advances nor inhibits religion; and (3) not foster excessive government entanglement with religion. p.99
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Lemon v. Kurtzman
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The publication of false or malicious statements that damage someone’s reputation. p.112
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Libel
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A political ideology whose advocates prefer a government active in dealing with human needs, support individual rights and liberties, and give higher priority to social needs than to military needs.
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Liberalism
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The idea that the winning candidate has a mandate from the people to carry out his or her platforms and politics. Politicians like the theory better than political scientists do. p.309
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Mandate Theory of Elections
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The 1961 Supreme Court decision ruling that the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable searches and seizures must be extended to the states as well as the federal government. See also exclusionary rule. p.119
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Mapp v. Ohio
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Television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and other means of popular communication. They are a key part of high-tech politics. See also broadcast media and print media. p.208
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Mass Media
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The 1987 Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of the death penalty against charges that it violated the Fourteenth Amendment because minority defendants were more likely to receive the death penalty than were white defendants. p.125
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McCleskey v. Kemp
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A commission formed at the 1968 Democratic convention in response to demands for reform by minority groups and others who sought better representation. p.269
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McGovern-Fraser Commission
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Events purposely staged for the media that nonetheless look spontaneous. In keeping with politics as theater, media events can be staged by individuals, groups, and government officials, especially presidents. p.208
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Media Events
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The mixing of cultures, ideas, and peoples that has changed the American nation. The United States, with its history of immigration, has often been called a melting pot. p.176
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Melting Pot
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A 1974 case in which the Supreme Court held that a state could not force a newspaper to print replies from candidates it had criticized, illustrating the limited power of government to restrict the print media. See Red Lion Broadcasting Company v. FCC. p.115
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Miami Herald Publishing Company v. Tornillo
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A 1973 Supreme Court decision that avoided defining obscenity by holding that community standards be used to determine whether material is obscene in terms of appealing to a “prurient interest.” p.110
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Miller v. California
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The emergence of a non-Caucasian majority, as compared with a white, generally Anglo-Saxon majority. It is predicted that, by about 2060, Hispanic Americans, African Americans, and Asian Americans together will outnumber white Americans. p.176
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Minority Majority
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The 1966 Supreme Court decision that sets guidelines for police questioning of accused persons to protect them against self-incrimination and to protect their right to counsel. p.120
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Miranda v. Arizona
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Passed in 1993, this Act went into effect for the 1996 election. It requires states to permit people to register to vote at the same time they apply for drivers’ licenses. This should lessen the bureaucratic hassles of voter registration, though critics charge that it may also increase registration fraud. p.306
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Motor Voter Act
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The Supreme Court protected the right to assemble peaceably in this 1958 case when it decided the NAACP did not have to reveal its membership list and thus subject its members to harassment. p.117
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NAACP v. Alabama
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One of the institutions that keeps the party operating between conventions. The national chairperson is responsible for the day-to-day activities of the party and is usually hand-picked by the presidential nominee. See also national committee. p.244
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National Chairperson
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As opposed to the traditional “broadcasting,” the appeal to a narrow, particular audience by channels such as ESPN, MTV, and C-SPAN, which focus on a narrow particular interest p.216
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Narrowcasting
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One of the institutions that keeps the party operating between conventions. The national committee is composed of representatives from the states and territories. See also national chairperson. p.244
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National Committee
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The meeting of party delegates every four years to choose a presidential ticket and write the party’s platform. p.244
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National Convention
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The supreme power within each of the parties. The convention meets every four years to nominate the party’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates and to write the party’s platform. p.267
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National Party Convention
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A proposal by critics of the caucuses and presidential primaries systems who would replace these electoral methods with a nationwide primary held early in the election year. p.274
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National Primary
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A coalition forged by Franklin Roosevelt and the Democrats, who dominated American politics from the 1930s to the 1960s. Its basic elements were the urban working class, ethnic groups, Catholics and Jews, the poor, Southerners, African Americans, and Democratic intellectuals. p.250
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New Deal Coalition
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Decided in 1964, this case established the guidelines for determining whether public officials and public figures could win damage suits for libel. To do so, said the Court, such individuals must prove that the defamatory statements made about them were made with “actual malice” and reckless disregard for the truth. p.112
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New York Times v. Sullivan
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Newspapers published by massive media conglomerates that account for almost three-quarters of the nation’s daily circulation. Often these chains control broadcast media as well. p.213
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Newspaper Chains
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The constitutional amendment adopted in 1920 that guarantees women the right to vote. See also suffrage. p.152
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Nineteenth Amendment
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The official endorsement of a candidate for office by a political party. Generally, success in the nomination game requires momentum, money, and media attention. p.266
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Nomination
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Elections to select party nominees in which voters can decide on election day whether they want to participate in the Democratic or Republican contests. See also primaries. p.244
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Open Primaries
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A statement of legal reasoning behind a judicial decision. The content of an opinion may be as important as the decision itself. p.522
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Opinion
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A view that the Constitution should be interpreted according to the original intent of the framers. Many conservatives support this view. p.525
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Original Intent
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The jurisdiction of courts that hear a case first, usually in a trial. These are the courts that determine the facts about a case. Compare appellate jurisdiction. p.508
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Original Jurisdiction
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The battle of the parties for control of public offices. Ups and downs of the two major parties are one of the most important elements in American politics. p.236
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Party Competition
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The gradual disengagement of people and politicians from the parties, as seen in part by shrinking party identification. p.252
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Party Dealignment
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Historical periods in which a majority of voters cling to the party in power, which tends to win a majority of the elections. See also critical election and party realignment. p.247
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Party Eras
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A citizen’s self-proclaimed preference for one party or the other. p.240
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Party Identification
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A type of political party organization that relies heavily on material inducements, such as patronage, to win votes and to govern. p.241
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Party Machines
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A term used to describe the fact that many Americans are indifferent toward the two major political parties. See also party dealignment. p.252
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Party Neutrality
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A political party’s statement of its goals and policies for the next four years. The platform is drafted prior to the party convention by a committee whose members are chosen in rough proportion to each candidates strength. It is the best formal statement of the party’s beliefs. p.275
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Party Platform
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The displacement of the majority party by the minority party, usually during a critical election period. See also party eras. p.247
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Party Realignment
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One of the key inducements used by machines. A patronage job, promotion, or contract is one that is given for political reasons rather than for merit or competence alone. Compare civil service and the merit principle. p.242
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Patronage
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A 1992 case in which the Supreme Court loosened its standard for evaluating restrictions on abortion from one of “strict scrutiny” of any restraints on a “fundamental right” to one of “undue burden” that permits considerably more regulation. p.127
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Planned Parenthood v. Casey
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An actual bargain struck between the defendant’s lawyer and the prosecutor to the effect that the defendant will plead guilty to a lesser crime in exchange for the state’s promise not to prosecute the defendant for the more serious one. p.122
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Plea Bargaining
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An 1896 Supreme Court decision that provided a constitutional justification for segregation by ruling that a Louisiana law requiring “equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races” was not unconstitutional. p.142
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Plessy v. Ferguson
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Funding vehicles created by the 1974 campaign finance reforms. A corporation, union, or some other interest group can create a PAC and register it with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), which will meticulously monitor the PAC’s expenditures. p.284
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Political Action Committees (PACs)
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An overall set of values widely shared within a society. p.179
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Political Culture
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The belief that one’s political participation really matters—that one’s vote can actually make a difference. p.304
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Political Efficacy
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A coherent set of beliefs about politics, public policy, and public purpose. It helps give meaning to political events, personalities, and policies. See also liberalism and conservatism. p.192
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Political Ideology
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All the activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or the policies they pursue. The most common, but not the only, means of political participation in a democracy is voting. Other means include protest and civil disobedience. p.9, 196
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Political Participation
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According to Anthony Downs, a “team of men [and women] seeking to control the governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election.” p.236
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Political Party
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A doctrine developed by the federal courts and used as a means to avoid deciding some cases, principally those involving conflicts between the president and Congress. p.533
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Political Questions
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According to Richard Dawson, “the process through which an individual acquires his [or her] particular political orientations—his [or her] knowledge, feelings, and evaluations regarding his [or her] political world.” See also agents of socialization. p.180
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Political Socialization
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People who invest their political “capital” in an issue. According to John Kingdon, a policy entrepreneur “could be in or out of government, in elected or appointed positions, in interest groups or research organizations.” p.225
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Policy Entrepreneurs
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Voting that occurs when electoral choices are made on the basis of the voters’ policy preferences and on the basis of where the candidates stand on policy issues. For the voter, policy voting is hard work. p.312
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Policy Voting
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Small taxes, levied on the right to vote, that often fell due at a time of year when poor African-American sharecroppers had the least cash on hand. This method was used by most Southern states to exclude African Americans from voting registers. Poll taxes were declared void by the Twenty-fourth Amendment in 1964. See also grandfather clause and white primary. p.148
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Poll Taxes
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How similar cases have been decided in the past. p.523
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Precedent
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Elections in which voters in a state vote for a candidate (or delegates pledged to him or her). Most delegates to the national party conventions are chosen this way. p.268
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Presidential Primaries
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Meetings of public officials with reporters. p.211
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Press Conference
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Newspapers and magazines, as compared with broadcast media. p.213
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Print Media
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A government’s preventing material from being published. This is a common method of limiting the press in some nations, but it is unconstitutional in the United States, according to the First Amendment and as confirmed in the 1931 Supreme Court case of Near v. Minnesota. p.104
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Prior Restraint
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The situation occurring when the police have reason to believe that a person should be arrested. In making the arrest, the police are allowed legally to search for and seize incriminating evidence. Compare unreasonable searches and seizures. p.118
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Probable Cause
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An electoral system used throughout most of Europe that awards legislative seats to political parties in proportion to the number of votes won in an election. Compare with winner-take-all system. p.256
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Proportional Representation
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A form of political participation designed to achieve policy change through dramatic and unconventional tactics. See also civil disobedience.
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Protest
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A technique used by pollsters to place telephone calls randomly to both listed and unlisted numbers when conducting a survey. See also random sampling. p.187
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Random Digit Dialing
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The distribution of the population’s beliefs about politics and policy issues. p.174
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Public Opinion
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The key technique employed by sophisticated survey researchers, which operates on the principle that everyone should have an equal probability of being selected for the sample. See also sample. p.186
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Random Sampling
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A popular theory in political science to explain the actions of voters as well as politicians. It assumes that individuals act in their own best interest, carefully weighing the costs and benefits of possible alternatives. p.238
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Rational-choice Theory
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The process of reallocating seats in the House of Representatives every 10 years on the basis of the results of the census. p.180
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Reapportionment
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A 1969 case in which the Supreme Court upheld restrictions on radio and television broadcasting, such as giving adequate coverage to public issues and covering opposing views. These restrictions on the broadcast media are much tighter than those on the print media, because there are only a limited number of broadcasting frequencies available. See Miami Herald Publishing Company v. Tornillo. p.115
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Red Lion Broadcasting Company v. FCC
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The landmark case in 1971 in which the Supreme Court for the first time upheld a claim of gender discrimination. p.153
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Reed v. Reed
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A state-level method of direct legislation that gives voters a chance to approve or disapprove proposed legislation or a proposed constitutional amendment. p.296
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Referendum
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A 1978 Supreme Court decision holding that a state university could not admit less qualified individuals solely because of their race. The Court did not, however, rule that such affirmative action policies and the use of race as a criterion for admission were unconstitutional, only that they had to be formulated differently. p.164
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Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
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A proposal by critics of the caucuses and presidential primaries to replace these electoral methods with regional primaries held early in the election year. p.274
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Regional Primaries
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A view favored by some political scientists about how parties should work. According to the model, parties should offer clear choices to the voters, who can then use those choices as cues to their own preferences of candidates. Once in office, parties would carry out their campaign promises. p.257
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Responsible Party Model
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A theory of voting in which voters essentially ask this simple question: “What have you done for me lately?” p.315
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Retrospective Voting
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According to Paul Bender, “the right to keep the details of [one’s] life confidential; the free and untrammeled use and enjoyment of one’s intellect, body, and private property ... the right, in sum, to a private personal life free from the intrusion of government or the dictates of society.” The right to privacy is implicitly protected by the Bill of Rights. See also Privacy Act. p.126
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Right to Privacy
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The 1973 Supreme Court decision holding that a state ban on all abortions was unconstitutional. The decision forbade state control over abortions during the first trimester of pregnancy, permitted states to limit abortions to protect the mother’s health in the second trimester, and permitted states to protect the fetus during the third trimester. p.126
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Roe v. Wade
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A 1957 Supreme Court decision ruling that “obscenity is not within the area of constitutionally protected speech or press.” p.109
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Roth v. United States
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A relatively small proportion of people who are chosen in a survey so as to be representative of the whole. p.185
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Sample
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The level of confidence in the findings of a public opinion poll. The more people interviewed, the more confident one can be of the results. p.186
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Sampling Error
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A 1919 decision upholding the conviction of a socialist who had urged young men to resist the draft during World War I. Justice Holmes declared that government can limit speech if the speech provokes a “clear and present danger” of substantive evils. p.105
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Schenck v. United States
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A 1963 Supreme Court decision holding that a Pennsylvania law requiring Bible reading in schools violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment. Compare Engel v. Vitale. p.100
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School District of Abington Township, Pennsylvania v. Schempp
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A written authorization from a court specifying the area to be searched and what the police are searching for. The Fourth Amendment requires a search warrant to prevent unreasonable searches and seizures. p.118
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Search Warrant
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The phenomenon that people often pay the most attention to things they already agree with and interpret them according to their own predispositions. p.289
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Selective Perception
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The situation occurring when an individual accused of a crime is compelled to be a witness against himself or herself in court. The Fifth Amendment forbids self-incrimination. See also Miranda v. Arizona. p.120
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Self-incrimination
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An unwritten tradition whereby nominations for state-level federal judicial posts are not confirmed if they are opposed by the senator from the state in which the nominee will serve. The tradition also applies to courts of appeal when there is opposition from the nominee’s state senator, if the senator belongs to the president’s party. p.512
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Senatorial Courtesy
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The constitutional amendment designed to protect individuals accused of crimes. It includes the right to counsel, the right to confront witnesses, and the right to a speedy and public trial. p.122
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Sixth Amendment
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Political contributions earmarked for party-building expenses at the grass-roots level (buttons, pamphlets, yard signs, etc.). Unlike money that goes to the campaign of a particular candidate, such party donations are not subject to contribution limits. p.283
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Soft Money
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A presidential appointee and the third-ranking office in the Department of Justice. The solicitor general is in charge of the appellate court litigation of the federal government. p.521
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Solicitor General
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Short video clips of approximately 15 seconds, which are typically all that is shown from a politician’s speech or activities on the nightly television news. p.221
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Sound Bites
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The requirement that plaintiffs have a serious interest in a case, which depends on whether they have sustained or are likely to sustain a direct and substantial injury from a party or an action of government. p.505
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Standing to Sue
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A Latin phrase meaning “let the decision stand.” The vast majority of cases reaching appellate courts are settled on this principle. p.523
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Stare decisis
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The judicial interpretation of an act of Congress. In some cases where statutory construction is an issue, Congress passes new legislation to clarify existing laws. p.534
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Statutory Construction
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The legal right to vote, extended to African Americans by the Fifteenth Amendment, to women by the Nineteenth Amendment, and to people over the age of 18 by the Twenty-sixth Amendment. p.147
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Suffrage
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National party leaders who automatically get a delegate slot at the Democratic national party convention. p.270
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Superdelegates
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The pinnacle of the American judicial system. The Court ensures uniformity in interpreting national laws, resolves conflicts among states, and maintains national supremacy in law. It has both original jurisdiction and appellate jurisdiction, but unlike other federal courts, it controls its own agenda. p.510
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Supreme Court
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Nonverbal communication, such as burning a flag or wearing an armband. The Supreme Court has accorded some symbolic speech protection under the First Amendment. See Texas v. Johnson. p.114
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Symbolic Speech
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A shot of a person’s face talking directly to the camera. Because this is visually unappealing, the major commercial networks rarely show a politician talking one-on-one for very long. See also sound bites. p.222
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Talking Head
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A 1989 case in which the Supreme Court struck down a law banning the burning of the American flag on the grounds that such action was symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment. p.114
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Texas v. Johnson
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Electoral contenders other than the two major parties. American third parties are not unusual, but they rarely win elections. p.254
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Third Parties
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The constitutional amendment passed after the Civil War that forbade slavery and involuntary servitude. p. 141
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Thirteenth Amendment
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Voting with one party for one office and with another party for other offices. It has become the norm in American voting behavior. p.241
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Ticket-splitting
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An intentional news leak for the purpose of assessing the political reaction. p.218
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Trial Balloons
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The constitutional amendment passed in 1964 that declared poll taxes void. p.148
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Twenty-fourth Amendment
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The 1974 case in which the Supreme Court unanimously held that the doctrine of executive privilege was implicit in the Constitution but could not be extended to protect documents relevant to criminal prosecutions. p.530
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United States v. Nixon
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Obtaining evidence in a haphazard or random manner, a practice prohibited by the Fourth Amendment. Both probable cause and a search warrant are required for a legal and proper search for and seizure of incriminating evidence. p.118
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Unreasonable Searches and Seizures
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A system adopted by the states that requires voters to register well in advance of election day. Although a few states permit election day registration for presidential elections, advance registration dampens voter turnout.p.304
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Voter Registration
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A law designed to help end formal and informal barriers to African-American suffrage. Under the law, federal registrars were sent to Southern states and counties that had long histories of discrimination; as a result, hundreds of thousands of African Americans were registered and the number of African-American elected officials increased dramatically. p.148
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Voting Rights Act of 1965
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One of the means used to discourage African-American voting that permitted political parties in the heavily Democratic South to exclude African Americans from primary elections, thus depriving them of a voice in the real contests. The Supreme Court declared white primaries unconstitutional in 1941. See also grandfather clause and poll taxes. p.148
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White primary
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An electoral system in which legislative seats are awarded only to the candidates who come in first in their constituencies. In American presidential elections, the system in which the winner of the popular vote in a state receives all the electoral votes of that state. Compare with proportional representation. p.256
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Winner-take-all System
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A 1978 Supreme Court decision holding that a proper search warrant could be applied to a newspaper as well as to anyone else without necessarily violating the First Amendment rights to freedom of the press. p.109
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Zurcher v. Stanford Daily
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